A nutty idea

I find it funny that consumers would want to ingest something known as a "fatty acid." I mean, that's just not appealing.

Planters NUTrition Omega 3 Mix

Where purchased: Target
Price: $4.00 (on sale)
Overall rating: 4/5

I have to say I was intrigued by the marketing of this product. First of all, incorporating NUT into NUTrition? Brilliant. Also, I love how they call this an "Omega 3 Mix." What a great way of jumping on the Omega 3 hype and using it to create a new package for foods that already exist. Ok, enough talk from the Marketing Manager in me.

I'd have to say that walnuts are not my nut of choice, although they are an excellent source of Omega 3s, which we know have all kinds of health benefits. Planters does an excellent job of making these healthy nuts as appealing as possible (short of putting them in a baked good, of course) by pairing them with dried cranberries and dark chocolate-covered soy nuts. The cranberries provide a nice fruity tartness, and the dark chocolate soy nuts provide a sweet and smooth addition to the mix, along with additional omega 3s. I had no idea soy nuts would work so well here, but – as I should have learned from my experience with the chocolate covered cranberries – it turns out chocolate-covered anything is delicious.

My biggest complaint with this product is the packaging. I understand that Planters was trying to maintain it's brand by putting this mix into the same short, aluminum can that their peanuts come in. But peanuts are much smaller than walnuts are, and they are all about the same size. You open up this can and you can't even see past the 4 huge walnuts to get to the other good stuff. It is seriously frustrating to me. I started breaking up some of the walnuts to make them closer to the size of the soy nuts.

I'm giving this product a 4 out of 5 - good taste, a great way to incorporate some additional Omega 3s into your diet, and very satisfying. $4.00 (on sale) seems a little hefty for a small can of trail mix, but I always think nuts seem pretty expensive. I wonder how much better you'd do buying walnuts, dried cranberries, and chocolate-covered soy nuts individually and mixing them all together yourself? You'd spend a lot to begin with, but I'm guessing the price/serving would go way down. But, as long as this is just something you snack on occasionally, I suppose paying $.50/serving for the added convenience isn't bad.

I was also intrigued by Planters' Antioxident Mix, but I'm already guessing if you like all of the ingredients individually, as I do, you'd like them all together. But if anyone is unsure, I'd be happy to do another review :)

Cheddar that melts better

Does the title of this blog entry make anyone's stomach churn as they think about that Velveeta vs Cheddar commercial, in which they show a big gross mess of cheddar that someone tried to melt? If so, I apologize.

Kraft Deli Deluxe Bacon Cheddar Cheese Slices













Where purchased: Target
Price: $2.89
Overall rating: 2.5/5

First, I'd like to say that I had to try this product three times before I felt comfortable posting about it. The first time I just ate it plain, the second time I had it on a cold turkey sandwich, and the last time I had it on a plain hot turkey and cheese sandwich. This is how thorough I am for my readers :)

My first impression was... yuck. I really didn't like it when I tasted it. But, I think the problem is that I was expecting to taste more of a sliced cheddar cheese than a sliced processed cheese. Even though it is called "Bacon Cheddar," it really is just cheddar flavored American processed cheese. I don't suppose that sounds particularly appealing to anyone. I mean, if Velveeta came out with a cheddar flavor would you want to just eat a hunk of it? Probably not. But if you melted it over some broccoli or a baked potato, it would be delicious.

When I actually put a half slice of the cheese on my sandwich, it was fine. I really didn't taste it. The flavor is very mild. I really don't taste any bacon flavor in it, so it is somewhere between a mild cheddar and American cheese flavor. Not enough to stand out amongst the company of lettuce, cucumber, chipotle mayo, whole wheat bread, and peppered turkey breast.  I finally thought "Hey, this is essentially just a thick American cheese. It is meant to be melted." So I melted it over a pile of turkey and ate it on a bun. I think that was probably the way to go. It still didn't stand out, but at least I finally understood what the one appeal of the cheese is: To make a cheddar that melts better.

All in all, I wasn't impressed with the product. It gets a rating of 2.5 out of 5 because each slice has a high fat/calorie content because it is about twice as thick as I'd want it to be. And the flavor just isn't there. It isn't necessarily a bad flavor (unless you eat it straight out of the package), it just isn't better than regular "yellow square cheese" (courtesy of my nephew, Owen) or cheddar cheese. I think this product is simply trying to fulfill a niche that really doesn't need to be filled.

What's the big fat deal?

Greek yogurt seems to be gaining all kinds of popularity recently. So, I figured I'd find out for myself - What is the Big Fat Greek Deal?


Yoplait Greek Yogurt - Honey Vanilla and Strawberry

Price: $1.00  (on sale)
Where purchased: Schnucks
Overall rating: 3/5

As clearly displayed on the Yoplait Greek label, their big deal is "twice the protein of regular yogurt." This particular brand also boasts 0 g fat, 130 calories, 18 g of sugar, and no artifical sweeteners. Yoplait Greek is also made from cow's milk - which is apparently typical in Greek yogurts sold in the U.S. We Americans don't typically care for sheep's milk.

I can see why Greek yogurt would be ideal for cooking. It has a thick texture and doesn't get that extra liquid that you sometimes find in regular yogurt. But as far as eating straight from the carton goes... I'll stick with the regular yogurt. While I like that you can pack extra protein into the same number of calories (kinda gives you that same phenomenon that egg whites do - extra protein for very few calories), I found the thick texture to be undesirable and the taste was not particularly great either. While the flavor of the honey vanilla wasn't bad and closely resembled a traditional vanilla yogurt, the strawberry flavor tasted very artificial and lacked the necessary sweetness needed to counteract the natural bitterness of the yogurt. I also find the price to be a bit ridiculous. I do understand that it takes more milk to make 6 oz of Greek yogurt than it does to make 6 oz of regular yogurt and thus a higher price is needed... but come on. I can't be spending over $1 on every cup of yogurt I eat!

So, I'm giving this product a 3 out of 5. I do like the nutritional aspects of it - and we all know I love my protein - but I just can't sacrifice the money, texture, and taste to continue buying it. So don't get wrapped up in the Greek yogurt hype and the marketing if all you are looking for is a good-tasting, smooth-textured, somewhat healthy yogurt. I'd stick to the Stonyfield Organic or similar brand if I were you.

Call me craisi

If the leading brand of dried cranberries calls them Craisins, shouldn't the leading brand of the chocolate covered variety call them Craisinets? It only makes sense.

Nestle Cranberry Raisinets

Price: $2.69 (5.5 oz bag)
Where purchased: Target (thank you, Jackie!)
Rating: 3/5

I love raisinets. I find them to be a great snacking candy. It's really no wonder they have been a movie-goers staple for so many years. And really, as far as candy goes, nutritionally you can't do much better. I mean, you are actually getting some nutrition underneath the sugar and fat of the delicious milk chocolate.

So, one could only expect Nestle would do an excellent job covering cranberries with chocolate as well, right? Right. They did. They did an excellent job of making their chocolate covered cranberries exactly like raisinets. Like... exactly. I really can't tell the difference. I was hoping the dried cranberry would add a little different tang and taste than the raisin, but the flavor is pretty much indistinguishable beneath the milk chocolate coating. This is the same way I think of fried appetizers at restaurants. Fry a mushroom, broccoli, onion... it really doesn't matter. It all tastes like deep fried breading.

So, I rated this product a 3.5 out of 5 not because I was at all displeased with the taste or value, but because Nestle did a poor job making a new product. If a company is going to bother making a different version of a classic, actually do something different. Maybe they should have covered it with white chocolate instead. Or put a little less chocolate to bring out the cranberry - something besides bragging about the antioxidents of the cranberries. Come on, it's been done.

That said, Nestle also has a new cherry raisinet covered in a dark chocolate coating that I will probably have to try. While I do know they make dark chocolate raisinets, I actually haven't tried them yet. In fact, by the time all is said and done I'll probably end up purchasing 4 different packages of raisinets and Nestle will have accomplished exactly what they set out to do. But what can I say - I am only a consumer.

Keep the doctor away

But you can't just do it with an apple a day anymore. Now you have to add antioxident-rich superfruits to your apple.

Musselman's Healthy Picks Applesauce - Key Lime Cupuaca

Where purchased: Super Walmart
Price: $1.50 (on sale?)
Rating: 3/5

Did you have any idea how many types of applesauce there are out there?? I had no clue. I always thought applesauce was just like.. umm... mashed up apples. Gee, was I wrong.

Add to the already crowded applesauce collection a new line of individual snack cups from Musselmans - Healthy Picks. These claim no added sugar, but do have fruit concentrates and "other natural flavors," as opposed to the natural applesauce that literally does just have apples and water. For an extra 20 calories, 5 grams of carbs, and 3 grams of sugar, the healthy picks applesauce gives you additional flavor, calcium, iron, vitamin C,  fiber, and "antioxidents."

I can't imagine these additional benefits are worth a whole lot, as the applesauce mostly just tasted like... well, applesauce. There was a hint of lime in it that I really enjoyed, I just wish there would have been more of it. I was actually surprised at how well the two flavors complimented each other, and made the applesauce seem sweeter, not tart or sour as I had feared.

So, I'm giving this product a 3 out of 5 because it really isn't anything special. It had a good taste, was relatively healthy, and a good value, but there was nothing about it to get me excited. You may want to try it if you normally get regular unsweetened applesauce just for something slightly different, but don't expect to be thrilled by this product if you aren't a regular applesauce eater. I'll admit that I still am curious to try the other flavors - Blueberry Pomegranate and Raspberry Acai - just on the off chance that they might have a more unique flavor. It doesn't feel like too much of a gamble if I can pick these up for $1.50, and at the worst I'm left with something closely resembling applesauce!